I'm going to open this off by recommending Pure Vape Indy and Alexander the Vape to anyone living in or visiting Indianapolis.

I'm going to be running reviews of various B&Ms in the Indianapolis area as I have a chance to visit them, talk to their staff, and check out their merchandise. I'll try to keep to a similar format for all of my reviews, but no promises.

About the shop

This review is going to focus on Pure Vape Indy, which is on the west side of Indianapolis.

They sell: mods (authentic, clone, and high-end, mech and vv/vw), RBA/RDA (authentic and clones), batteries, starter kits, tanks, accessories, juices, drip tips, replacement coils, and will build coils for customers.

The shop's fairly small, but they make very good use of their space. They have a sizable sales counter and a small juice bar. The only thing they're really lacking's hang out space - if you're hanging out and talking shop or waiting on some juice, you're either going to be leaning on a counter, standing awkwardly, or taking up space at the juice bar.

They have a very good website and they do ship their merchandise. The website's easy to navigate and well organised.

Juice

All of the juice that PVI sells is made in-house, though this is far from being a problem. They carry way more juices than I was ready to count (their website states close to 200), and there is definitely a wide variety in their flavours.

The juice is available for sampling at their juice bar, where you ask after a flavour and they fetch a tank of it for you to try.

Their juices are available in 10, 30 and 50ml sizes, as well as a number of different nicotine levels and pg/vg levels. Their stock juices are 50/50 - if you want something else, you're going to have to wait a few minutes while they mix. They charge an extra $1 for 100% VG juice.

The juice I've had of theirs has been very good. I tried several different flavours, and the only one I haven't liked has been their bourbon flavour. I ordered the horchata, absinthe and bourbon flavours in 100% vg 6mg/ml, and absolutely love them. The flavour level is perfect for an RDA - I normally have a problem with my dripper overstating flavours, and these came through perfectly. The vapour production was great, as is generally expected from a 100% VG juice.

I didn't need to steep these juices, despite them being 100% VG juices made as I ordered them. Like I said, the bourbon's the only juice that I didn't like, and I'm going to be giving it another try after it steeps a bit longer.

They've recently started carrying premium juice flavours - this has happened in the past few days. I haven't had an opportunity to sample these flavours, but I'll update once I do to weigh in.

Selection/Pricing

This is the best store I've been to in Indy for selection. They carry several authentic, high-end mods, several clones, and a few lower-end authentic. Same goes for RBA/RDA.

As far as VV/VW goes, it's about what you'd expect. Vamos, VTRs, MVPs, etc. Nothing too high-powered or fancy.

Their starter kits are also basic - Evods, egos, spinners, etc. The only real concern here is the Kamry k101 starter kit - It's a mechanical mod starter kit that comes with two batteries, an atty, and a charger. Their are no indications that this is meant for advanced users only. Given what I've seen in the store and from their employees, they wouldn't let someone walk out the door with this unless they had a thorough understanding of safety and knew exactly what equipment they needed. Online, though, there needs to be some sort of warning.

Aside from that, it's simply a great line-up. Their prices are better than a lot of B&Ms I've been to; it's pretty comparable to online, probably due in part to their online store.

One thing I will complain about is that I can't find any rebuilding materials on their online store. I know they have it, but I can't find it. The same goes for some other things that I know they have but can't find.

Last thing before the next section - they carry at least one 26650 mod, but no 26650 batteries. Kinda bugs me a little, what with my hades on its way and all.

Staff

The staff at PVI, that I met, were mostly knowledgable and friendly, and perfectly willing to share their knowledge and opinions.

One thing that struck me is that they will admit to not knowing something, rather than trying to bluff through it. I had a question about an RBA, and the guy helping me didn't know. He grabbed another employee who could help me out.

I can't talk about their coiling ability, as I don't use coils I didn't make myself, but I am told that they "do a great genny."

One guy (I think he was the owner, but not sure) particularly stood out. We sat and chatted for a while while I was waiting on my juice. He really knew his stuff and was very happy to talk about his equipment.

Closing

I would definitely recommend this shop to anyone visiting Indy. It's a great little place with some very good stuff and really great staff. The only reason this isn't my go-to vape shop is that it's nearly a 45 minute drive for me.

Next time, I will be going over my go-to vape shop: Alexander the Vape, a relatively new vape shop in Castleton.